Various dip stick wipers have been proposed heretofore for wiping the usual dip stick which is used to determine the engine oil level in automotive vehicles. Such dip stick wipers use a pad or pads of soft, absorbent material for wiping oil from the dip stick.
In several such prior dip stick wipers, the pad presents a single wiping groove for slidably passing the dip stick. Examples of these are shown in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: Owens 1,664,316, Lescher 2,259,898, Gall 2,470,484, Clark 2,634,445, Desso 2,810,923, Hernandez 4,017,935 and DeVitis 4,103,388. A wiper of this general type for cleaning fishing lines is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,700,787 to Trapanese.
In several other prior dip stick wipers, a pad or pair of opposed pads are squeezed manually against the opposite faces of the dip stick to wipe it clean. Examples of these are shown in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: Bouchard 1,871,208, Shough 2,134,806, Shirk 3,387,314 and Addison et al 4,010,512.
Another type of dip stick wiper is intended to have the dip stick wiped across the outside of the pad, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,553,915 to Rix et al.
Almost all of the above-mentioned patents show a spring clip on the like for mounting the wiper pad or pads inside the vehicle's engine compartment, such as on the oil filler tube or a nearby part.
In accordance with the presently-preferred embodiment of the present invention, a wiper pad of soft, absorbent material is mounted inside a holder ring which has a ball joint connection to a spring clip for mounting it on the oil filler tube or some other conveniently located tube, rod or bar in the vehicle's engine compartment. The pad is formed with a plurality of slits, each of which is shaped and dimensioned to slidably receive the dip stick and provide wiping engagement with the opposite faces of the dip stick. Preferably, several of the slits in the pad are inter-connected in a sawtooth pattern extending across the pad. A longer slit, which intersects the sawtooth pattern of slits at the middle, is provided for the purpose of accommodating twisted dip sticks.
In the present invention the provision of a plurality of slits increases the useful life of the wiper pad, enabling the user to select a slit from among those having the least accumulation of oil from previous uses. The ball joint connection between the holder ring for the wiper pad and the spring clip enables the pad to be adjusted to virtually any desired position with respect to the tube, rod or bar on which it is mounted in the engine compartment of the vehicle.
A principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved dip stick wiper to be mounted in the engine compartment of an automotive vehicle.
Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a presently-preferred embodiment thereof, which is shown in the accompanying drawing.